The Academy Awards have always been known as one of the biggest award shows in film industry history. This year it didn’t let people down. 

Leading the nominations this year was Emilia Pérez, with 13 nominations. This has been quite controversial because of the online controversy surrounding the movie. One of the main actresses in the film, Karla Sofia Gascón, has had a bunch of controversy surrounding her after racist tweets of hers have resurfaced. Additionally, a lot of people dislike the movie due to the music and the acting.

Behind Emilia Pérez in nominations, is the hit movie Wicked with 10 Oscar nominations. Wicked has been a big hit across the box office partially due to the star-studded cast. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, and Michelle Yeoh are a few examples. Both movies have actresses nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress. 

Speaking of these awards, which are considered as the “big four” in Oscar awards. This year Best Supporting Actress

went to Emilia Pérez actress Zoe Saldaña. Saldaña is also known for her roles as Neytiri in Avatar and Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy. Additionally, Best Supporting Actor went to Kieren Culkin for his role in A Real Pain. Brother of Macaulay Culkin, Kieren is partly known for his small role in Home Alone as Kevin’s cousin. Mikey Madison won Best Actress for her role in Anora. She now joins only Jennifer Lawrence as the only 2 actresses born in the 1990s to ever win the Oscar for Best Actress. Madison is only 25. Finally, Adrien Brody won Best Actor for his role in The Brutalist. This is quite the controversial pick, because the movie, The Brutalist, used AI to enhance their accents and dialogue. People are saying that since they used AI, he shouldn’t be considered for an award based off of his acting since it was artificially increased.

Best Picture is also one of the acclaimed awards that a movie could receive. This year, Anora was the winner. Anora is about a young woman who marries a Russian oligarch in New York. When his parents find out, they try to get their marriage annulled.

There were also 3 amazing performances this year. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande kicked off the Oscars with a performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, “Home”, and “Defying Gravity.” The pair looked amazing and sang amazingly.

Then, LISA, Doja Cat, and Raye, who sing the song “Born Again” together, sang a tribute performance to James Bond. LISA kicked it off with a cover of “Live and Let Die” with the addition of Margaret Qualley from The Substance dancing. After LISA’s performance, Doja Cat came out to sing “Diamonds are Forever.” To finish it off, Raye sang Adele’s “Skyfall.”

Finally, Queen Latifah hit the stage with a performance of “Ease On Down the Road” as a tribute to the late Quincy Jones who sadly passed away in November of 2024.